INSTANT REACTION TO THE 27TH PICK:As of this writing, it appears the Hawks traded down to take Jordan Crawford rather than Damion James, Hassan Whiteside, Solomon Alabi, or Daniel Orton in order to gain the opportunity to sell the 31st pick to Oklahoma City. It's not a hugely encouraging start to the off-season. This season, shooting guard may be to the depth chart what center was last season. The Hawks are three deep at the 2 without either Joe Johnson or Josh Childress yet signed to an NBA team.

INSTANT REACTION TO THE 53RD PICK: Pape Sy played 425 minutes over 30 games for Le Havre. He averaged 5 points a game, made 54% of his two-point attempts, 12-29 three-point attempts, and 71% of his free throws. He grabbed a rebound every eight minutes (and an offensive rebound just every 42 minutes). He's already 22 years old and should not be expected to provide anything other than a cost of $0 for ownership.

Much can be forgiven if Brian Zoubek, Wayne Chism, Marqus Blakely, and Marquis Gilstrap are on the summer league roster.

Consider this an open thread for any stray thoughts (Hawks-related or not) that must be shared before, during, or after the draft.

14 comments:

After the Damion James pick, I was seriously screaming "Finally, they made the exact right decision!" (I was in my car, so yes, I was screaming). And then...they trade the exactly correct pick for someone to play as the third or fourth SG on the roster, plus cash. I bet the also sign Mario West again next season, to give them 5 SGs on the roster and only one small forward.

stunned. dumbfounded. astonished. Heck, I was feelin' the D. James pick, then the rug began moving under the Hawks fans collective feet. Then, I rationalized that we were gonna snag a '5' (Alabi, Whiteside, or Jerome Jordan) @ 31 ... but then Mr. Sund finished the deed with one final, violent tug (in the form of drafting a Euro center, then rumored to have sold the pick for $$$)

This is an ownership group that's too cheap to pay market rate for a decent NBA coach, so this draft strategy just confirms they're prepping for a sign-and-trade with JJ, or that he's going to walk outright.

Combine this with the Bulls clearing cap space today for a second max contract, and I think its clear JJ ends up in Chi-town. This ownership group doesn't have two nickels to rub together.

You accurately point out the risk of re-signing Joe Johnson but the risk of hoping to get something for him in a sign-and-trade is that the team he wants play for literally might not have anyone under contract to include in a trade. It's many years of poor cap and resource management that has brought the organization to this point.

I hope that selling the pick means that the Hawks are saving up to make an off to Joe Johnson. I looked back at the last 6 or 7 years of picks around #31, and there are a few good ones (David Lee, Anderson Varejeo, and Josh Howard), but almost all of them are nobodies. So in my mind, if this money goes to get Joe back, the Hawks did good work.

And, by the way, I think most people would have been happy with the Hawks just taking Jordan Crawford at 24 and nothing else. They successfully got over $3 mil to go to a veteran for nothing. No complaints here.